Acrobatic Gymnastics (2026/080)

March 20, 2026

Acrobatic gymnastics is how we both first got into gymnastics - using your partner(s) as apparatus rather than rings, bars etc. Learning to balance on one another, get pitched into the air to do somersaults and land back on the supporters, and so forth. Like ordinary gymnastics, it demands a lot of training, developing balance and strength, flexibility etc but also trust in each other within the group (two or four, formally, for the guys) and developing a sixth sense of knowing how each other is thinking, confidence in being caught and landed safely, and so forth.

Today's post celebrates this style, both with teams who are world champions and also groups of guys who have just got together to try something. If this second idea attracts you, good luck but always think about safety - there are standard positions to catch guys coming down from on top, for example, so seek expert coaching help. Plenty of safety mats around for new starters is an essential.

But it is fun, and world champions often end up in Cirque and similar situations.

This post is a bit heavy on videos (sorry for those who don't like that) but all routines are rather dynamic (albeit classified in formal competitions as 'dynamic', 'balance' and 'combined' - you do all three) - so the videos show off the art much better than still pictures.

So, here goes: you can decide who are the champions and who are the 'fun starters' just having a go!

Things do not always go according to plan:

The Ossolodkov brothers from California. Here's another:

...and, by the way - that's how it all began. Before even it was called 'Sports Acro' it was called 'Pyramid Building'! Guys have just gotten a great deal more adventurous by now (the girls too, but that's not where we're at with this blog)